Note: The internet informs me that fireflies don't exist in England (but instead there are glow worms, which sound so much stranger to me), so we'll consider this an alternate universe where they do.

Draco gripped his mother's hand tightly as they maneuvered through the crowds of Diagon Alley. Ever since he was two and had gotten separated from her for a few minutes, he'd had a great fear of being lost forever.

At six, he should have been too old for that, but he couldn't shake it. And his mother didn't seem to mind him staying close to her side.

They passed Florean Fortescue's, and Draco's eyes latched onto the customers, watching them eat their ice cream with smiles on their faces.

He'd already asked for ice cream, but his mother had said there was no time for it. His only choice was to watch as others got what he couldn't for once.

A family sat at one of the tables, two parents and their three kids. Draco noticed them at first because they had a huge half eaten sundae between the five of them. It was only a couple seconds later that he noted the way they were laughing with each other as they ate their ice cream.

Draco had never even seen his parents eat ice cream, and they never laughed with him in the same way as those parents did their kids. He was jealous.

He'd never even realized he could be jealous before.

"Mother, why don't I have brothers or sisters?"

His mother came to an abrupt stop, her eyes wide as she turned to look down at him.

She glanced around before she crouched in front of him.

"All families are different," she said carefully. "Your father and I decided we only wanted one child."

"But look." He pointed at the family. "There are three of them, and they're really happy."

Narcissa smiled, but it was strained.

"They're not happy because of the number of children they have, Draco. They're happy because they're a family, just like we are."

Draco blinked at her. It was clear that the other family wasn't just like them, but Draco couldn't see what else could be different besides the number of children.

"Are you ready to go?" Narcissa asked, straightening up from her crouch and offering her hand to Draco once again.

He nodded, though he would have liked to observe the other family for a few minutes more. He didn't say anything as he followed his mother down the street.

Thoughts of the family he'd seen at the ice cream parlour haunted him for the rest of the day. That night, as he laid in bed, he couldn't sleep. He could only stare at the canopy above him and think about how his mother and father hadn't smiled during dinner that night.

He'd never thought it odd before, but he kept comparing them to the perpetually smiling parents in his imagination. Having a family like that sounded nice. If he had siblings, there would be other kids to play with. His play dates were few and far between. Usually, he only got to see other children when the grown ups had an important function and needed to dump all of them with someone for safekeeping.

Feeling restless, Draco slipped out from under his covers. He hissed as his bare feet touched the cold hardwood floor. He slipped on his slippers in a hurry before quietly opening his bedroom door. The hallway was as silent as he'd expected it to be.

It wasn't the first time he'd snuck out in the night. He knew he'd be caught eventually, but he needed to move. Lying in his bed wasn't enough when he couldn't stop thinking about an imagined reality.

Usually, he stayed inside during his nighttime escapades, but something drew him outside that night. He walked through the garden, shivering at the shadows the plants cast over the path. The wards around the manor meant that nothing was going to get him, but he had to remind himself of that much in the dark.

In front of him, a small yellow light flashed, and Draco came to a stop, mouth gaping. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he was sure it must be magical in nature. Another light flashed, and Draco gasped.

He took a step closer and realized there were a handful more lights dancing in the air. All of them were flashing on and off.

All he could do was stare at them in wonder. He felt incredibly thankful that he was getting to see the spectacle. He lowered himself to the ground to stare up at the light show that was just for him.

It took a few minutes, but he became sure that what he was looking at was a group of living creatures. They had to be magical, but he'd never heard of them before. His parents were adamant about keeping out pests. Draco had been excited to get a gnome once, but his parents had quickly put an end to that. Suddenly, his stomach tightened in fear. If his parents found their new guests, surely they'd get rid of them too.

Draco didn't know why the little creatures had chosen their manor to visit, but he couldn't blame them. It was a nice place to live. Though he had been spending the night upset about not having siblings, he found himself feeling proud that his family received visits from the lights that danced around the sky.

Perhaps they were better than siblings. Draco hoped they stuck around.

"Master Draco! Oh, dear."

Draco turned to see Dobby hurrying towards him, wringing his hands.

"Mater Draco! Dobby must get you to bed. Master and Mistress will be upset with Dobby. Master Draco outside at night without a cloak. Please come inside, sir."

Though Dobby was frantic, he used the same hesitant tone he always used when he was trying to get Draco to do something, and Draco had little desire to go inside.

"No," he said firmly. "I want to stay and watch the lights."

He pointed at the sky, but Dobby didn't bother to look where Draco was pointing. He was backing towards the house, still wringing his hands as he thought of ways to coax Draco indoors.

"Dobby will be punished if Master and Mistress discover young Master outside," Dobby said. "Please come inside with Dobby, sir."

Draco ignored the house elf's pleas, too busy staring at the lights dancing in the sky. He would never be sure how long he stared until his eyes fluttered closed and he fell asleep in the dirt.

The next morning, he woke up in his bed, sure the whole thing had been a dream.

Prompt:

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Seasonal Challenge - Astronomy: Uranus at Opposition - (creature) firefly

Word count: 1,098